


Equinox

by mutualopining



Series: Astrology [1]
Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Agender Character, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Race Changes, Crush at First Sight, F/F, F/M, Genderfluid Character, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Character, M/M, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Other, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character, Twilight Renaissance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:13:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23934379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mutualopining/pseuds/mutualopining
Summary: My name is Bells Swan, and I am a nonbinary lesbian. As a lesbian (especially as one who isn't cisgender), I've thought a lot about how I would die, for obvious reasons (homophobia and transphobia, mainly). Fortunately, I can trust that Alice Cullen, the love of my life, would never let me face that fate - at the very least, she wouldn't let me face it alone.(On temporary hiatus for revision)
Relationships: Alice Cullen/Bella Swan, Billy Black/Charlie Swan, Carlisle Cullen/Esme Cullen, Edward Cullen/Jasper Hale, Emmett Cullen/Rosalie Hale, Jessica Stanley/Angela Weber
Series: Astrology [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1725250
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	1. Instant Crush

**Author's Note:**

> There's a bit of homophobia in this chapter, so here's your warning. Chapter title is taken from the song Instant Crush (feat. Julian Casablancas) by Daft Punk.

My mother and I – the iconic duo of Renee and Bella – drove to the airport in total silence, which was beyond unusual for us. It was uncomfortable for me because I was used to her chatting up a storm 24/7, and because the silence was apparently _my_ fault.

Before I came out to her as a lesbian, we'd had an incredible mother-child relationship, but then I blew it, believing she loved me enough to overcome her homophobia. As it turns out, I was entirely incorrect, as usual. After several hours of heated arguing (it didn't get physical, thank the gods), we both came to the conclusion that I would have to leave the house and live with my father, although we had different reasons for it...

I wanted safety and support, and my mother wanted nothing to do with me anymore.

As soon as I climbed out and had everything, she drove off – no goodbyes, _nothing_. Not even asking me to call her when I arrived in Forks, Washington, which was my current destination. I stared after her for a bit, not sure of how I should feel, but decided to ignore it for now and left. I definitely knew not to come out as nonbinary or Pagan to her too, at least.

I took a nap on the plane to cope with the stress, and when I woke up, I was actually happy for the first time in my life that I was so far away from Renee.

* * *

My father was the chief of police in Forks, and he'd arrived with the cruiser to pick me up. Even though I hated the police with a fiery passion for so many reasons, I was glad to see Charlie again, because I knew that he was the kind of cop that actively fought against the injustices committed by the force. Also, he was less likely to hate me because of my orientation, despite living in a small town – Charlie had never seemed to care about that sort of stuff at all, while my mother was overly invested in it.

All around, he was a pretty cool dad, and I sincerely regretted not visiting him more often.

"Hello, Bells," he said gruffly, giving me a small grin that emphasized his thick moustache.

"Hey, dad!" I was a bit more visibly enthusiastic than him, jumping in for a quick (awkward) hug before asking him to help me place my luggage in his car. When that was done, we climbed in and drove off.

The drive was mostly silent, but this time, it was welcome. I'd inherited a great deal of social awkwardness from my father, so we were used to sharing comfortable silences with each other. I also didn't really want him to question me about why I came here, as I'd lied about it to him on the phone, just in case. I'd said that it was because Renee was going with her new husband "Phil" for some sporting event that would take a while to complete, and I wasn't really in the mood to travel all over or stay home alone for ages. I didn't like lying to him, and I knew I would tell him the real reason eventually.

"Bella?" Charlie spoke up at some point along the way, breaking the silence. "Just wanted you to know that it's nice to have you here again."

"Aww, thanks. It's nice to be here with you again, too," I replied, giving the man a small smile. He flushed a bit at that, but seemed pleased. Poor Charlie still wasn't used to receiving compliments, which was terrible and awful, so I decided then and there to help build his confidence a bit.

"Umm, I got you a car as a gift. More of a truck, actually..." he spoke up again after a bit.

"Wait, really?" I was awestruck. I'd always loved the idea of having a truck, and almost couldn't believe my ears. "Thank you so much! I've always wanted one. You're the best!"

Charlie actually started blushing, but he had a large grin on his face this time. "No problem. Got it cheap from Billy Black, since he can't really drive it anymore." Billy Black was one of my dad's best friends. I hadn't seen him in a while, but I remembered him being very fun-loving, so I supposed it would be nice to see Billy again.

"What happened to Billy?"

"He was in a car accident a couple months ago, and now he's paralyzed from the waist down. Not really in the position to be driving a truck."

"Oh... He's doing alright now, though?"

"Yup. He actually wants to come with Jacob to see you tomorrow after school. Remember Jacob?"

Jacob Black had been one of my best friends when I was a kid, and I had visited him and his father with Charlie often on the nearby reservation. When we were younger, I had known him by a different name – a different gender, even – but that was never very important to me. "Of course. How's he?"

"From what I can tell, he's doing okay. He actually helped fix up your truck."

"I'll have to thank him, then."

"You do that, Bells."

We spent the rest of the ride in silence once again, and got to the house in a couple of minutes. It had been a while since I was last here, but it looked more or less the same as it had looked for my entire childhood. My father didn't spend enough time at home to care much about its appearance.

Then, I spotted it - an old, rusty Chevy truck. My eyes grew wide in wonder, and I ran towards it. I was so excited that I began jumping up and down, touching its surface. I didn't even care how old it was; it was marvelous regardless. "Oh my gods, I _love_ it! Thank you so much again!" I ran to Charlie and gave him another hug, but this time it was longer-lasting and less awkward. We'll get used to it soon enough... Maybe.

"Anything for my Bells," he chuckled after getting over his surprise at my growing affection, letting go. After that display, we headed inside, and he showed me the keys for the Chevy.

We carried my luggage upstairs into my old bedroom, which looked mostly the same but slightly cleaner than usual. Charlie didn't hover, which I was grateful for, so I finally had the opportunity to sort through my emotions after packing everything into place. I ended up silently crying myself to sleep.

* * *

A couple hours later, I awoke to my dad knocking gently on the door. "Bells, dinner's ready!"

"I'll be down in a minute!" I shouted back, waiting for him to walk back down before rushing to the bathroom and cleaning up. I didn't want him to worry about his child crying so soon, so I tried to cover up my puffy eyes to the best of my ability.

Just as I was finishing up, I heard my father start having a conversation with someone downstairs. The voice of the other person was like heaven to my ears. "Alice! It's nice to see you."

"Hello, Charlie," Alice replied excitedly. "It's nice to see you too! Is Bella here already?"

"Yep. Bells, hurry up! There's someone here who wants to meet you!"

I didn't need to be told twice, so I ran down the stairs as fast as I dared (hoping to all the gods that I wouldn't fall). As soon as I saw the stranger, I stopped and gawked. I could swear my heart had skipped a beat or two in that second.

Alice was a tiny, almost-translucently-pale, East-Asian pixie-like being wearing designer clothing, with short, spiky hair such a dark brown that it was almost black, and striking facial features, such as beautifully long eyelashes and shining golden eyes (I didn't know if it was physically possible for someone to have a natural eye color like that, so I assumed there were contact lenses involved). All in all, probably the most beautiful human being I'd ever laid my eyes on. No, scratch that – _definitely_ the most beautiful human being I'd ever laid my eyes on.

"Hello, Bella Swan! My name's Alice Cullen!" I was met with a tight hug, a (unfortunately) platonic kiss on each cheek and a gorgeous smile that lit up the world. This was the fastest crush I had ever developed in my entire life, which was saying something (considering how quickly I'd fallen in love with complete strangers before).

"Umm, hey, Alice, my name's Bella – wait, you already knew that..."

"It's nice to finally meet you! Mr. Swan told us so much about you," Alice replied after giggling at my response briefly. Even the fairy's giggles were divine. "May I ask what your pronouns are? Mine is she/her, by the way."

"Oh, nice to meet you too. And, uh, I'm okay with any pronouns, I guess. Thanks for asking." I knew I was blushing furiously, but she didn't seem to notice. I was surprised to hear her ask about pronouns, and that just kind of made me fall harder for her. I seriously needed to slow down. I barely knew her!

"You're welcome!" she cheered. Just then, I noticed she was carrying a container of spaghetti. "Oh, I brought you a little gift! My mother, Esme, and I made this together for you. We assumed you liked pasta because your name sounded Italian." She handed it out for me.

"Oh, thank you!" I took it from her carefully, snorting at the last comment.

"Such an elegant little piglet," Alice teased, her eyes twinkling as my blush somehow deepened. "Anyway, again, it's so nice to meet you! If I'm not mistaken, we'll be sharing most of our classes when you start school tomorrow. Exciting, isn't it? I'll be showing you around, just so you know. Oh, I'll also introduce you to all my siblings! They're really cool and I know they'd adore you. I'm certain we'll all be great _friends_ soon!"

"Uh, yeah, thanks... Glad I have at least one person I know at this new school already." I was taken aback at the speed of Alice's words leaving her mouth, wondering if she'd breathed even once during all of that. "See you tomorrow?"

"Of course! Buh-bye, Bells!" She winked at me, squeezing me into another hug. "Goodbye, Mr. Swan! Have a lovely night!" I said goodbye back, and then she was gone. And then she came back with a beaming smile. "One more thing: you smell really good, Ms. Swan! Bye again!" Then she was truly gone, and I was both blushing and confused.

"Goodnight Alice!" I heard Charlie call from the kitchen, turning around to see he'd left us alone while we'd talked. Sneaky man. He'd also taken the container of spaghetti from me without my notice, and was dishing it up for us. I must have been really distracted...

We sat at the dining room table and ate, once again in a comfortable silence, up until my curiosity forced me to speak up. "So, dad, how do you know Alice?"

"Oh, she's Dr. Carlisle Cullen's youngest daughter. He's the town doctor and I've worked with him on several cases. Really nice person, and his family is great too. Although, a lot of people in this town seem to have issues with the Cullens for no damn reason. These small town closed-minded folks drive me up the wall sometimes, I swear."

"Oh, okay. She's really nice. I like her," I admitted after Charlie'd finished rambling. I secretly wondered if that's the most words he's ever spoken to me at a time.

As soon as we were done with supper, we worked together to clear and wash the dishes before I headed upstairs. "Night, dad. Love you!" I called down.

"Sleep well, Bells," he replied, more cheerful than I'd heard him in a while. "Love you too."

Almost as soon as I'd gotten into bed, I passed out, but not before thinking about Alice. She was just so lovely and beautiful and– _zZzZzz_. On a serious note though, I was so excited for school the next day, which was probably the most shocking realization for me to have. I'd always hated public schooling, but maybe with that little sprite hanging around, it could be a ton of fun. I genuinely smiled widely for the first time in days at the thought of her before closing my eyes.


	2. A Strange Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella's first day at school is... Strange, for lack of a better word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is taken from the song A Strange Day by The Cure.

The moment I arrived at my new school the next morning, I noticed Alice and (presumably) the other Cullens standing by a fancy car – at least, it appeared fancier than all of the other cars in the parking lot – and they all noticed me too, their eyes trained on me as I drove in. It was probably the sound of my truck that drew their attention, which temporarily embarassed me until I realized I actually liked the roaring of it a lot. This thing was like a dragon, all red, old and loud.

"Bella!" I heard as I stepped out, before being briefly embraced, _platonically_ kissed on both cheeks and gorgeously smiled at by the small pixie I'd met the night before. "Great to see you again! How was the spaghetti?"

"Hey Alice, nice to see you too. It was actually pretty good. Both of us enjoyed it," I replied, already flustered. "Are those your siblings?" I pointed out the other four kids that had been standing with Alice.

"Esme would be so glad to hear that! Glad our efforts weren't wasted," she joked and beamed, enthusiastically (yet gracefully) hopping around on both feet. "And yep! Could you tell from the family resemblance?"

She must have been joking with that last comment, because none of them looked alike. There were some similarities – all five of them having bright golden eyes (matching contact lenses?) and appearing somewhat intimidating in their own ways – but each one was quite different from the others. Two of them (including Alice) were extremely pale, but the other three had varying skin tones. I noticed that they weren't all of the same racial group, so my current assumption was that some or all of the Cullen kids had been adopted.

"Hmm, I guess not," she continued while I was distracted looking at her siblings. "Anyway, would you like me to introduce you to them now? I swear that they won't bite! And I'll walk with you to the front office to get your things straight afterwards."

"Sure, and thanks," I replied, following her to the group. When we started heading that way, two of them hurried off, hand in hand. "Where are they going?"

"Oh, they're probably just going off to cuddle a bit more before school. My brothers, Jasper and Edward, are _very_ affectionate with each other. But don't worry, you'll get to meet them both later on!"

We finally stopped in front of the remaining two. One of them was Middle-Eastern, tall and muscular with a goofy grin and a buzzcut, and the other was a pale, platinum-blonde with a seemingly permanent scowl. Both of them wore designer clothing like Alice, but they still had their own styles.

"Hi there! Bella, right?" the tall one spoke up, grin widening. "I'm Emmett, Alice's big bro. It's really so cool that I'm finally meeting you. Ali hasn't been able to shut up about you since yesterday!" he chuckled, Alice playfully smacking him on the arm at that remark.

"Hi, Emmett..." I was blushing slightly as I replied to his greeting, wondering if Alice had actually been talking about me with her siblings.

"Rosalie," the blonde replied, slightly nodding at me before walking off.

"She's kinda asocial," Alice commented, rolling her eyes at her sister's retreating back. "You'll get to know her more at some point, though."

"Heh, that's probably the most Rose has spoken to anyone outside of the family in the two years we've gone to school here!" Emmett joked (well, I assumed it was a joke, but it could very well have just been an honest observation). "Gonna have to catch up with her. See you folks later!" And then, it was only Alice and I left behind.

"Didn't expect them all to run off so soon," I said in confusion.

"Sorry about that. They aren't used to interacting with non-family members yet..." Alice looked and sounded genuinely saddened. "We're considered weird to this town, so most people avoid us."

"Hey, it's no problem. And my dad told me about that. It's ridiculous! You all seem so nice," I replied, panicking slightly at my new friend's expression. My mind was screaming that no one so cool should ever feel bad like that, and I couldn't help but to agree wholeheartedly.

The pixie girl beamed at me then, giving me another quick hug before we headed off to the office. I wasn't really used to this amount of physical affection, but I didn't mind it at all, because I was getting free hugs and kisses from the beautiful girl that is Alice Cullen.

* * *

We gathered my schedule and other items together quickly, and then she walked me to my first period class, which we shared. It was still early by the time we arrived, so there was only one other person already there – a cute Latine student with glasses, a button-up, white long-sleeved shirt and dark hair in a ponytail – and the teacher was busy dozing off in the front.

"Mr. Mason?" Alice caught the teacher's attention. "I brought the new student, Bella Swan."

"Ah, yes," he smiled at me, introducing himself before letting Alice take me to a seat at the back. She sat to the right of me, while the other student sat to the left of me.

"Hello, I'm Angela Weber," the girl spoke up quietly, smiling shyly at me before extending her hand in greeting. I shook it, introducing myself even though she probably already knew my name from the exchange with Mr. Mason.

"Hey there, Angie!" Alice said, smiling brightly at the other girl. "How are you?"

"I'm good, and you?"

The two exchanged some more pleasant conversation, my contribution being quite minimal as I was still adjusting. They seemed to get along quite well, so I assumed this girl didn't buy into the town's stigma against the Cullens. That was instantly endearing.

After a couple minutes, more students began showing up, and the lesson began. Many did a double-take when they saw me, intentionally staring even though I was at the back of the classroom. Being the new kid _and_ sitting next to Alice seemed to draw a lot of unnecessary attention to me, which was uncomfortable – I didn't much like attention, even if it was positive – so I was squirming in my seat, watching the clock and anxiously waiting to escape this tiny room to go to the next one.

Both of my companions noticed my discomfort at the stares, so Alice glared at a couple until they turned around and Angela alerted Mr. Mason that the kids who didn't budge weren't paying attention to his lecture. I was grateful for their help, so I smiled widely at both of them.

They continued to help me like that throughout the morning, both walking with me to the classes we shared and directing me to the ones we didn't as well. It was really sweet of them, and I felt a warm feeling growing in my chest. I had friends, plural! On the first day! Being the dreadfully shy kid that I was, this was a huge achievement for me, so I was squealing internally with excitement for hours.

* * *

By the time lunch had rolled around, I'd acquainted myself with some other students, including Jessica, a chatty but warm pale girl with large, curly brown hair, and Eric, an East-Asian boy with short black hair that seemed to like me right off the bat. The other kid I'd talked to was a blonde boy named Mike, but he creeped me out with his stares, so I subtly avoided him after our first and only interaction. I mean, he'd seemed nice enough, but he should really know better than to check out a complete stranger all sexually.

"Hey, Bella, Alice! You should come sit with us," Jessica offered, smiling at the two of us. "Angela'll be there too."

We both accepted the invitation, although Alice was a bit hesitant at first. She'd pulled out her phone to text one of her siblings that she'd be joining me with my other friends before making her decision. When we walked over to the table, I noticed that we were indeed joined by Angela, Eric and, unfortunately, Mike. There were some others, but I hadn't gotten their names yet.

Thankfully, Mike seemed to be too shocked at Alice joining to start trying to "seduce" me, so I smiled at the girl again for being so great at absorbing all the attention. She noticed, returning my smile with a knowing grin.

"Umm, Alice, aren't you gonna eat?" Eric spoke up in confusion.

"Oh no, I'm on a special diet," she replied, her tone mildly amused as if she was making an inside joke. "Can't afford to ingest unhealthy high school cafeteria food."

"That diet seems to be working..." I commented absently (referring to her attractive physique) before realizing what I'd said and blushing. Alice giggled at me, swatting my shoulder playfully. I repressed the urge to sigh blissfully at the sound of her laughter, and the feeling of her light touch. Way too soon for that sort of reaction.

"Ooh, the new kid's a real charmer," Jessica chuckled. "Watch out everybody!" We all laughed, even though I was a bit embarassed at the attention coming back to me. It was inevitable though, I'd guessed.

"How are you enjoying Forks so far, Bella?" Angela asked, smiling at me again.

"It's better than I was expecting," I replied honestly, shrugging slightly. "Thank the gods it didn't rain today. I would have been full of bruises before I even got to school, slipping in all those puddles."

"You must be really clumsy. Maybe you should take some ballet lessons to help with your balance or something," Alice suggested with concern.

"Been there, done that. It was a total disaster," I replied, grimacing at the childhood memories.

We all talked for a bit longer, so I got to learn the names of the other kids at the table (Tyler and Lauren) but we ended up getting distracted by a sudden hush in the cafeteria's constant chatter. Some of the kids were staring at our table, likely due to the presence of Alice and I, but most of the attention was focused on a small group of new arrivals entering the cafeteria. I recognized the two in front as Emmett and Rosalie almost instantly, noting that they were quite close, with Emmett's arm around Rosalie's shoulders. Emmett grinned and waved slightly at me as they walked by, but Rosalie completely ignored me. Not that I felt entitled to her attention, but... Whatever.

"Yes, they're in a relationship," Alice muttered to me. "It's not creepy because they aren't actually blood-related."

"How'd you know I was gonna ask?"

"I have my ways," she smirked, winking at me. "...I actually just figured that you would because that's the most obvious subject of discussion, but I'll let you think it's something mysterious that I have at my disposal."

Trying to recover from the reaction _that_ gave me, I concentrated on the arrivals once again. There was one other kid following them, and I noticed it was one of the siblings that had trailed off before I could get introduced to them. The last one – Edward, I think his name was – was still missing, however.

"That's Jasper," Alice stated, correctly guessing my next question once again. "Edward won't be back for a week or so for some reason, so you'll have to wait to meet him. Sorry again."

"It's really not a big deal, don't worry," I replied, smiling at her in a reassuring manner and hoping that her negative feelings wouldn't return.

I noticed that Jasper was an African-American man, not quite as muscular as Emmett but still well-built, with lots of scars on his face and shoulder-length textured hair. He looked like he was in pain, so I felt a bit of sympathy stir for him. Turning to me abruptly, he gave me a small smile and a nod of acknowledgement before following after the other two again, the pain returning to his expression.

The trio sat at a table far away from the rest of the students, none of them grabbing any food, just like Alice. It made sense that they were all on this "special diet", as she'd called it. Maybe I should try it, too? It seemed to make people unfairly attractive, so that was incentive enough for me. I'd been insecure about my appearance for years, no matter how many times someone'd spoken about it positively. Perhaps it was the constant emphasis on my assumed gender in compliments that put me off. Actually, yeah, that was exactly it.

"So, Bella, how do you know the Cullens?" I was broken out of my reverie by Mike, who'd finally found the guts to speak up around Alice, to my chagrin.

"My dad's a friend of their parents, apparently," I replied, trying to keep the edge out of my voice. "And Alice brought me spaghetti yesterday as a housewarming gift. He probably told them about me coming here."

"Aww, Alice, that's so sweet," Angela said, smiling at the girl. Alice returned the smile, so I couldn't help but grin at the exchange. Something about these two girls just filled me up with positive thoughts and feelings.

"Wish someone would have brought me spaghetti when I first moved here," Jessica said, pouting.

"Not everyone can be as lucky as me!" I exclaimed, grinning.

We talked for a bit more, and then the bell rang, signalling the start of the next session of classes. I groaned, but perked up when I realized I'd be sharing all the rest of my classes with Alice and Angela. I barely knew them and they already brightened my school-moods.

The "A-Team" helped to drag all the attention away from me once again for the rest of the classes, so I found myself actually enjoying my first day for once in my life. First days were usually the worst, so that promised a lot of good things about the rest of the year. At least, I hoped it did.

* * *

At the end of the day, I exchanged numbers with Alice, Emmett, Angela, Jessica and Eric, purposefully avoiding Mike once again (I didn't want him sending me weird shit) before heading home.

"How was school? Make any friends?" Charlie asked later that night while we were working together to cook dinner.

"It was actually enjoyable, somehow. Guess it doesn't hurt to know at least one person there before you actually get there. I'm friends with Alice and Angela, and I talked a bit to some other kids too."

"That's great, Bells."

We ate dinner in a comfortable silence once again, and the fatigue hit me as soon as my hunger was satisfied. I hugged my dad goodnight and headed upstairs, not forgetting to text some of my friends before putting my phone on charge and dropping in bed.

I briefly considered checking my emails, but I knew my mother probably hadn't sent anything. She didn't seem concerned about her only child anymore, which was heartbreaking, but I always knew that our relationship wasn't the best that it could be.

I shut my eyes, but not before realizing that I'd just had one of the strangest days of my life. Not because of any major event, but rather because I had _enjoyed_ the day. There were other strange elements to it that had caught my attention too (like the weird behavior of Alice's siblings, and the girl in question's little mind tricks), but the disappearance of the dark cloud in my mind was far more important to me. I was smiling in my sleep again, already anticipating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for all the support so far. This story won't have a strict update schedule, so don't worry if it seems like I'm taking too long to update. I'm probably just gathering up the willpower to write or something ridiculous like that.


End file.
